The present invention relates generally to a circuit board, a mounting structure, a mounting method, and an electronic apparatus, and more particularly to a circuit board that is used in common for domestic (i.e., Japanese) market and for overseas market. The present invention is suitable for a motherboard (main board) that is installed in, for example, notebook type computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), handy game instruments, handy electronic apparatuses such as drive units, space saving type electronic apparatuses such as desktop computers or word processors of display integrated type or slim type.
The demand for electronic apparatuses such as personal computers is now growing. Particularly, handy data processing apparatuses such as notebook type personal computers (hereinafter, “note PCs”.) or PDAs are remarkably improving and widespreading, and they are demanded to be smaller and thinner. Furthermore, various functions or apparatuses are installed in the handy data processing apparatuses so as to satisfy the demand for them to have higher performance and more various functions.
However, the demand to be smaller and thinner is basically contrary to the demand to have higher performance and more various functions. The data processing apparatus becomes big in accordance with having more functions. Still more, the data processing apparatus (or electronic devices installed in the data processing apparatus) generally generates more heat in accordance with having higher performance or more functions. The data processing apparatus will become bigger in accordance with increasing the functions because it also needs cooling function. Therefore, to make the handy data processing apparatus be small, thin, lightweight, high performance, and various functions, the decision of installing the higher necessary performances and functions and not installing the lower necessary performances and functions in the data processing apparatus is needed.
The necessity of the performances and functions often depends on the consumer targeted. The consumer targeted can be classified, for example, by consumer's age or market destination (domestic or overseas such as to the U.S.A. or to Europe). Therefore, the functions to be installed are differently selected in accordance with grade or market destination in the same series of the data processing apparatuses.
In such case for example, a motherboard optimized only for Japanese domestic market is used for a note PC for Japanese domestic market, and a motherboard optimized only for overseas market is used for a note PC for overseas market.
However, many kinds of motherboards should be manufactured for one series of the data processing apparatus if the exclusive motherboards are respectively used for every grade or destination. Thus, many kinds of production molds or production lines of the motherboards should be prepared and it results increase of the production cost. Many kinds of motherboards confuse the assembling process, and it results decrease of assembling performance.